The date is the 6 June 1944. The paratroopers on board the aircraft are crammed together, joking and singing over the drone of the engines, none of them dwelling on the gnawing fear in their guts. They reach the French coastline, and everyone goes quiet when loud explosions and flashes erupt around the aircraft. Pilots desperately dodge and swerve through the cool night air while the men hold firm, preparing to jump. They reach the open door; the green light flicks on and they leap without hesitation into a sky lit up by flak, ready to meet their fate. One after another, thousands of white parachutes billow out and the men fall through the air not knowing where they might land or if they will even survive the drop; but their minds are set. They are clear about their mission and its critical importance as part of the bigger picture. Some ’chutes do not open, weapons and kit are torn off in the slipstream, and anti-aircraft guns pick men off and many never make it to the ground alive. The Normandy landings of 1944 were just one of the many famous operations in the stunning history of the Paras. This book by former paratrooper Jason Woods gives the reader an unprecedented snapshot of the role that these brave and determined paratroopers have played throughout their history, demonstrating not only the courage, strength and fitness of the men who make up this mighty regiment, but also their intelligence, compassion, and wicked sense of humor. This powerful journey through aspects of all the key wars and conflicts that the regiment has been engaged in over the last eighty years is made through the eyes of those who served. The book reveals how the Paras have become seen as an elite fighting force, feared by those who have had the misfortune to come up against them on the field of battle. This book covers challenging operations in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Kosovo, and Sierra Leone. It includes an exciting overview of Operation Telic in Iraq, the epic battles in Afghanistan, and subsequent withdrawal of all British citizens and troops from Kabul in 2021, on Operation Pitting. Packed with short interviews and poignant quotes, many original and never seen before, from current and former Paras, the author highlights the regiment’s constant evolution, as the battlefield conditions have changed, into today’s modern 16 Air Assault Brigade Rapid Reaction Force and Special Forces Support Group, while always maintaining the core standards and ethos embodied in the regimental motto Utrinque Paratus – ‘Ready for Anything’. Finally, get a glimpse into the transition many Paras make when they eventually leave the regiment and join the secretive private security industry, known as the ‘Circuit’.

Paratrooper is the autobiography of a young man’s time with the famed 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles.” With not the finances to finish his senior year in college and a looming draft, it leads to his enlisting in the U.S. Army. With thoughts of Officer’s Candidate School, Private Michael B. Kitz-Miller heads for a newly designed Basic Training course for soldiers planning to attend Airborne School. High performance results in Leadership School and Acting Sergeant in Advanced Infantry School. At Airborne School he is a runner-up for Honor Graduate from his original class of 1,000 soldiers. Finally, the new paratrooper boards a bus for Ft. Campbell and the 101st. His first job is as an M-60 machine gunner, scoring expert his first time on the weapons range. Numerous operations follow – Cold Eagle, Swift Strike II, Desert Strike and the surprise Operation Delawar, jumping into Iran in 1964 as part of the U.S. STRIKE Command. All produce commendations and after winning the Division Soldier-of-the-Month competition a promotion to Sergeant. He soon becomes part of the Battalion Mountaineering cadre. The rigors of Recondo School and its incredible 35 percent graduation rate follow, offering a shot at Honor Graduate. Having won Battalion and Brigade competitions, the young paratrooper enters and finds himself a finalist in the Division’s Soldier-of-the-Year competition. Tough career decisions follow. The story ends with Sergeant Kitz-Miller’s opportunity, 50 years later to compare key issues that confronted him as a soldier with those of today. The evaluation of Officers and NCOs, leadership and mentoring are but a few. His final chapters on Just War Theory and current Rules of Engagement provide provocative ideas about how to address our current policies on terrorist states. Above all, it is the story of a very successful Paratrooper that loved the Airborne Infantry.

This is a memoir of paratrooper Kurt Gabel, a German Jew who emigrated to the US in 1938, joined the 513th Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division, and fought against his former countrymen in the Battle of the Bulge.

Seventy years ago the army’s elite air assault force, the Parachute Regiment was formed, tough and well-trained, designed to fight hazardous operations behind enemy lines, with little or no backup. These are the ‘Sky Men’. Any army’s mavericks. Trained to operate independently in testing conditions. Dropping into the middle of enemy territory, these tough British, American, German and Russian soldiers engage in gruelling combat the most dangerous conflict zones in the world. Robert Kershaw, an ex-Parachute Regiment officer, reveals the history of these airborne forces, and their important role during the most dramatic battles of the twentieth century. He finds out what makes them tick, what drives a ‘Sky Man’ to take these extraordinary risks, what marks these sky warriors out from ordinary soldiers? Based on exclusive interviews with soldiers from around the world, as well as letters and diaries, Sky Men is full of vivid personalities, and nail-biting action. It is the story of the army’s biggest risk-takers, The Paras.

Since their foundation during the Second World War, the Parachute Regiment has acquired a formidable reputation as tough, fearless soldiers. "The Red Devils" have played a key role in many of the battles of the past sixty years--the capture of Sicily, the D-Day landing, the heroic but doomed attempt to capture the bridge at Arnhem. In the so-called years of peace since the Second World War, the Paras have seen action all over the world - from Cyprus, Palestine, Egypt, Borneo and the Falklands to Bosnia. Their service in Northern Ireland has been surrounded by controversy--the events of "Bloody Sunday" in Londonderry in 1972 are still the subject of fierce debate, and a continuing government inquiry. For his authoritative book, John Parker has gathered together the testimony of numerous veterans of the Parachute Regiment. Their first-hand accounts of the major events in their history bring home the reality (and cruelty) of combat. The events of "Bloody Sunday" are seen through their eyes, and will re-ignite the controversy over what actually happened.